Apple Crumble
by NoEarlyBird
Summary: Ray uses it to kill time. Kai is close to killing himself because of it. Apple crumble. But why? And what can be done about it?


Disclaimer: Don't own the rights to the show and don't make as much as a penny with this.

 **A/N** : Hi guys!

I have a little seasonal KaRe for you today. We've had tons of apples this year, so after making two loads of apple jam, I decided to go for apple crumble, and my family has been going nuts about and I honestly cannot recall how many of those I've had to bake for them in the past couple of weeks... so that's my source of inspiration forthis. As always: life ^^

Hope you like it. Let me know what you think of this and have a great weekend everyone!

~Bird

PS I wonder: is anyone reading these A/Ns?

* * *

 **Apple Crumble**

* * *

The moment Kai opened the door he caught a scent that had become part of their apartment's smell over the past weeks. A smell he'd come to detest, and yet a smell he couldn't do a thing about.

He sighed.

"I'm home!" he said and took off his shoes.

He was just slipping into his house-shoes when Ray poked his head into the hallway.

"Welcome home!" he said and smiled.

Kai walked over and gave Ray a kiss on the cheek. Ray was wearing his apron. He'd been wearing hardly anything else lately. That alone wasn't a problem. Ray enjoyed cooking and baking and Kai usually enjoyed eating what Ray had made. Usually! These past weeks, however, their home had smelled of nothing but one thing: apples! Ever since apple season had begun it was nothing but apples: apple jam, apple juice, and over all these apple crumble.

Kai could no longer count the amount of apple crumbles that had come out of their oven, the amount of apple crumbles _he_ had had to eat. And if it wasn't him, it was Max and Tyson. Kai didn't know which was worse. Ray would invite them over for coffee and cake and they'd stay until Kai got home, then invite themselves for dinner and then chill in their living room until Kai kicked them out late at night - because some people needed to go to work in the morning. And that was part of the problem. One part was obviously their elderly neighbor who kept giving Ray free apples. Kai had seriously considered cutting down their neighbor's blasted apple tree - what was wrong with that tree for bearing this much fruit for this long anyway? The other, more substantial part of them problem was this: Ray needed something to kill the time. He'd graduated college in summer, taken a nice long vacation and was now looking for a job. It wasn't that he didn't get interviews, he did! He got job offers, too. He was just too damn picky! Ray had a very detailed image of his dream job and refused to take any job that wasn't exactly that. Kai had given up trying to talk him out of it, after about five minutes. There was no point. When Ray had set his mind on something, he could be very, very stubborn. Now, the problem was that Ray was at home, while everyone else was off to work or class. And so Ray did, what only Ray would do in this situation: he baked apple crumble.

For Kai, it bordered on torture. He'd never had a sweet tooth. He'd wanted to show Ray support, though, and so he did what he had to: he ate apple crumble. His stomach begged him not too, but his heart would eventually win every battle. Kai was sure once apple season ended he would never be able to eat a single apple ever again. If only it would be over already...

Kai braced himself for what was about to come. He knew from the lack of noise that Tyson couldn't possibly be in this apartment, and that left only one conclusion: the crumble was for Kai.

Oh Dranzer, please give me strength, he thought.

Out loud he said, "How was your day?"

"It was good! Very good, actually," Ray replied.

"How so?"

Kai walked into the kitchen and sat down at the kitchen island. There it was: the apple crumble. He fought the urge to wrinkle his nose at it.

Don't do it, Kai, he thought. For Ray.

There was nothing he would not do for Ray. If Ray needed him to eat the cakes he made day in day out to kill time, so be it. For Ray he'd probably live off of apple crumble for the rest of his life. Heart always trumped stomach.

He looked up and noticed Ray watching him. There was a sparkle in those golden eyes and a smile on those soft lips that Kai could never get enough of. He looked so happy like he hadn't in a while. It was good to see him like this.

Ray stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Kai's neck.

"I got a call today," he said and locked eyes with Kai.

Kai put his arms around Ray's waist.

"So did I," he said without breaking eye contact. "About fifty. It seems your caller had nicer things to say than mine, though."

Ray nodded.

"That's a fair guess," he said.

Kai was starting to get really curios, and it was also a fair guess that this was exactly what Ray was going for. He wondered for a second if he should give his boyfriend the satisfaction. ...Oh what the heck. He really was curious.

"What exactly did your caller tell you, then?"

Heart trumped pride as well.

Ray's smile became bigger.

Then he burst out, "I did it, Kai! I found my job! I start Monday!"

It took Kai a second to process the news. His job - _the_ job!

 _No more apple crumble_!

He pulled Ray close and placed a kiss on his lips.

"That's fantastic! Congratulations, Ray."

Ray beamed. Their lips met for second kiss, and another after that, each more passionate than the one before. When their lips finally parted, Kai nodded towards the crumble.

"So that's the last one?"

"Ugh, yes! I think I made enough apple crumble for this lifetime."

For more than one, where Kai was concerned.

"I can't say I'm sorry to hear that."

Ray laughed.

"I'm sorry I made you eat that much of it. I promise you won't have to eat another bite of it."

"Does that mean I can throw this off the balcony?"

"Now that would be a waste of food. But you can take it to the neighbors."

"Can I tell him to keep the crumble form, just in case?"

"Absolutely not."

"Worth a try."

"By the way, I made you dumplings. And stiff fry. Peace offering."

Kai smiled. His favorites.

"As for dessert..."

Ray bit his lower lip and traced his fingers down Kai's chest. Kai grinned.

"Let's start with dessert today."

And their lips met again.

* * *

 **The End**


End file.
